Featured Advice

Careers rarely develop the way we plan them. Our career path often takes many twists and turns, with particular events, choices and people influencing our direction.

We asked Emilia Gilroy from An Garda Sí­ochána to give some advice for people considering this job:

It is a very rewarding but also extremely challenging job. It requires a lot of resilience, mental strength, patience and compassion. It means seeing people at their worst in the most difficult circumstances.

It involves making difficult decisions, which will have life changing consequences for the offenders. If you think you have the ability to handle all that, it is a truly great job with amazing opportunities.

Featured Content

Self Assessment

What are your interests?

Naturalist?

Not surprisingly, some aspect of the natural sciences will run through the Naturalist's interests - from ecological awareness to nutrition and health. People with an interest in horticulture, land usage and farming (including fish) are Naturalists.

Some Naturalists focus on animals rather than plants, and may enjoy working with, training, caring for, or simply herding them. Other Naturalists will prefer working with the end result of nature's produce - the food produced from plants and animals. Naturalists like solving problems with solutions that show some sensitivity to the environmental impact of what they do. They like to see practical results and prefer action to talking and discussing.

Read our guide on how to accept your offer from the CAO

CAO Round 1 offers will be released at 2pm on Thursday the 15th of August, 2019. Due to changes to the Leaving Cert Appeals process, these offers are being issued just two days after the release of the Leaving Certificate results. Once students receive their offers, some will accept them straight away, while others will take a little time to consider them. Remember that you have until 5:15pm on Friday the 23rd of August to accept your Round 1 offer.

Accepting Your OfferOffers will be issue to students through their online CAO profile. To access their offers, students will need their CAO application number and their account password. Once you have entered these details, simply follow the instructions on the CAO website, working through each page to the end of the process. You will then have an option to print a receipt. Applicants are always advised to keep a copy of their acceptance.

Note: If you are unavailable to do this for any reason, you should designate a trusted family member to respond on your behalf, to avoid losing the place you have been offered.

Can I accept a Round One offer while also planning an appeal of LC Exam scripts in the hope of being upgraded to a higher course choice?

Yes, a Round One offer can be accepted and later superseded by taking up a later offer arising out of a successful appeal.

What if I don't accept any offers I received in Round One?

If an offer is not accepted by 5.15pm on Friday the 23rd of August, the CAO assumes that the applicant will not be accepting that offer and the places are passed on to the next eligible candidates during Round 2.

But I'm hoping to receive a higher offer in Round Two

Offers are made at Round Two only if there are places on a particular course that remain unfilled after Round One.

There is no guarantee that a place will become available. Applicants should therefore view their Round One offer as the only offer they will receive and make their decision on this basis.

If a place becomes available in Round Two on a course that you had listed as a higher preference, (and if you are next in line in the CAO system), you will receive another offer, regardless of whether or not you have accepted a place in Round One.

You can then choose to stay with your original offer, or accept the new offer. (There is no fee for accepting a CAO offer).

The CAO will communicate your acceptance to the college, and the college will then contact you with arrangements for starting the course.